Gunther Werks GXR-Evo – how to make a Manthey Racing 911 GT3 RS look tame
Gunther Werks has taken their restomods to the ultimate extreme, with the fastest naturally aspirated car it's ever made
With everything that’s going on at Monterey Car Week this year, a wild Porsche 911 restomod from Gunther Werks almost feels reassuringly familiar. At least until you look at it and read the specs. This is the Gunther Werks GXR-Evo and it’s the company’s most extreme and fastest naturally aspirated car in its history. Because a Manthey Racing 992 GT3 RS is too tame, right?
Manthey is a poignant reference when looking at this 993, as the extraordinary aero accoutrement it's glazed in could have come straight from them. The enormous rear wing with its intricate endplates, monster diffuser, rear wheel covers, shark fin on the rear window, front arch louvres, snow-plow splitter and gaping front intakes, are all very Manthey-coded. No downforce figure has been given, with the wing only described as ‘high downforce’ and that the work to the nose aids in the development of ‘significant front-end downforce’.
Big downforce means you need stiff suspension and a stable platform. To that end, the GXR-Evo gets a double-wishbone set-up at the front (like a modern 911 GT3) and JRZ three-way adjustable remote-reservoir dampers all round. Brakes are race-spec Brembos, while the wheels are magnesium with centre-locks, aiding significant weight loss.
This 993 is indeed a featherweight, having been put on a strict diet. All told it’s 95kg down, to a 1082kg (dry) figure. That’s in part thanks to the carbonfibre body, and ‘scrutiny and optimisation’ of ‘every component’ to ‘remove every unnecessary gram’.
As mentioned, unlike some of Gunther’s other wild creations, this is a naturally aspirated car. Power is 455bhp coming courtesy of an air-cooled 4-litre flat-six co-developed with Rothsport Racing, good for a 9000rpm redline. The engine features a slide-valve throttle-body system instead of traditional butterflies, improving volumetric efficiency and sharpening throttle response.
It’ll sound spectacular too, breathing through a straight-pipe exhaust. This and what look like slick tyres does beg the question of exactly how this ‘bridges the gap between road legality and motorsport capability’...
Look inside at the quick-release steering wheel, Motec display, the six-point harnesses and racey bucket seats, plus the fact that the car also has optional air jacks, you might expect the GXR-Evo to have a sequential race transmission. On the contrary, it features a good old-fashioned manual, albeit a significantly upgraded variant of the familiar Getrag G50 six-speed manual.
Just 15 examples of the GXR-Evo will be made and delivered globally, the first being revealed today at Monterey Car Week.
